Hog Retail Cuts

Overview

• Hog Skeletal System
• Common Hog Retail Cuts
• How to Breakdown a Hog Carcass

Primal Vs. Sub- Primal vs. Retail Cuts

Primal: Large “main” section or area of a carcass

• They can vary in names per specie

Sub-Primal: One step smaller than a primal

• Small portion taken from a specific primal

Boxed Meat/ Boxed Beef/ Boxed Pork:

• Packaged primals or sub-primals from packers that are boxed for shipping

Individual Muscle Cuts (IM): Individual whole muscles taken from a primal

• Tenderloin- Psoas Major
• Flat Iron- Infraspinatus

Case Ready:

• Retail cuts that are prepackaged ready for consumers

Retail Cuts: Primals, Sub-Primals, or IM Cuts cut into individual portions

• Tenderloin Steaks
• Flat Iron Steaks

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Pork Carcass

Shoulder

“Boston Butt”

Loin

Picnic Shoulder

Belly

Ham

Pork Primal Cuts

Boston Butt

Loin

Ham

Belly

Picnic Shoulder

Jowl

Neck Bones

Why is Knowing the Skeletal System Important?

• Carcass Breakdown
• Retail Cut Breakdown
• Retail Cut Identification
• Carcass Aging

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Why are Pig Bones Important for Consumers?

• Bones in Retail Cuts
• Marrow Bones/ Soup Bones
• Dog Bones
• Sold for Animal Feed 🡪 Bone Meal

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Pig Skeletal Anatomy

WHAT BONES SHOULD YOU KNOW AND RECOGNIZE?

• Femur 🡪 Leg Bone
• Tibia 🡪 Hindshank/Hock
• Ischium 🡪 Aitch Bone/ Hip Bone
• Illium 🡪 Pin Bone/ Pelvic Bone
• Vertebrae Column 🡪 Spine
• Spinous Process 🡪 Feather Bones

FRONT HALF OF A HOG CARCASS

• Ribs
• Scapula🡪 Shoulder Blade
• Humerus 🡪 Arm Bone
• Sternum 🡪 Breastbone/Brisket
• Radius 🡪 Foreshank

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BACK HALF OF A HOG CARCASS

Pig Skeletal Anatomy

Pork Carcass

Shoulder

“Boston Butt”

Loin

Picnic Shoulder

Belly

Ham

Pork Primal Break Up

Shoulder:

• Looking at a pig carcass at its head/neck area you will go back towards the ham to the 2^nd rib
• Once you have found the 2^nd rib you will need to cut through the backbone, sternum, shoulder blade, and between the 2^nd and 3^rd rib
• After you have fully separated the shoulder from the rest of the carcass you can now separate the shoulder into the Boston Butt and Picnic Shoulder
• Position the cut side (side you just cut from the carcass) closest to you and using a saw you need you need to find the bottom of the blade bone to separate the shoulder into the picnic(bottom piece) shoulder and Boston Butt (top).

Ham/Leg:

• Locate the aitch/hip bone (teardrop shaped bone close to the ham)
• Make a perpendicular cut from just above the head of aitch bone
• You will be cutting through the last few vertebrae and the pelvic bone

Pork Shoulder Cuts:

• Picnic Shoulder
• Boneless Picnic Shoulder Roast
• Bone-In Arm Picnic Shoulder Roast
• Boston Butt Shoulder
• Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast/Boneless Boston Butt Roast
• Bone-In Pork Shoulder Roast/Bone-In Boston Butt Roast
• Blade Steak
• Shoulder Arm Steak

Bone-In Arm Picnic Roast:

Primal: Shoulder

• Boxed Pork Sub-Primal: Picnic Roast

Bone- In Arm Picnic Roast Characteristics:

• 1-2 Bones
• Arm Bone🡪 Humerus
• Sometimes the Blade Bone🡪 Scapula/Shoulder Blade
• Also Called Picnic Shoulder or Fresh Picnic
• Square in Shape

Blade Steak

Primal: Shoulder

Blade Steak Characteristics:

• Scapula/Blade Bone - Main Bone (Light Blue)
• Contains many muscles

Main Muscle(s) in a Blade Steak:

• Infraspinatus- Flat Iron
• Supraspinatus- Mock Tender
• Serratus Ventralis
• Triceps Brachii- Long Head- Clod

Pork Ham Cuts:

• Fresh Ham
• Whole
• Rump Portion
• Shank Portion
• Fresh Ham Steak
• Smoked Ham (Must be Cured and Cooked)
• Whole
• Rump Portion
• Shank Portion
• Spiral Sliced
• Boneless Ham
• Smoked Ham Steak (Must be Cured and Cooked)

Ham Steak

Primal: Leg/Ham

Ham Steak Characteristics:

• Femur- Main Bone (Blue)
• Contains Star Fat(Pink)
• Smoked
• Contains many muscles

Main Muscle(s) in a Ham Steak:

• Bicep Femoris- Bottom Round
• Semimembranosus- Top Round
• Vastus Intermedius (Yellow)
• Rectus Femoris

Semimembranosus

Bicep Femoris

Rectus Femoris

Shoulder Breakdown

1. CONDUCT A YIELD TEST
2. BREAKDOWN AND BONE OUT A BOSTON BUTT

Pork Carcass

Shoulder

“Boston Butt”

Loin

Picnic Shoulder

Belly

Ham

Pork Primal Break Up

Loin/ Belly:

• To Separate the Loin from the Belly
• First locate the tenderloin (psoas major), a small round muscle located under the backbone
• Make a mark just below the tenderloin on the ham cut side
• On the shoulder cut end find where the ribs meet the backbone and then go down about 2 inches from that point and make another mark
• After you have marks on both sides then with a knife you should be able to cut from the ham end mark with a knife towards the shoulder end mark
• Once you are at the ribs you will need to finish the cut using a saw to cut through the ribs to meet with the shoulder end mark, you now have your loin and belly primal

Pork Loin Retail Cuts:

• Pork Tenderloins
• Boneless Pork Loin Roast
• Bone-In Pork Loin Roast
• Boneless Pork Chops
• Boneless Butterflied Pork Chops
• Bone-In Loin Chops
• Bone-In Rib Chops
• Riblets
• Bone-In Country Style Ribs
• Bone-In Pork Sirloin Steaks/Roasts
• Holiday Crown Roast

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Boneless Center-Cut Pork Loin Roast:

Primal: Loin

• Boxed Pork Sub-Primal: Bone-In Pork Loin or Boneless Pork Loin

Boneless Pork Loin Roast Characteristics:

• No Bones
• 1 Main Muscle🡪 Longissimus Dorsi/Loin Eye
• Roasts are Tied
• Size Ranges🡪 Pounds

Loin Chop/Center Cut Chop

Primal: Loin

Loin Chop Characteristics:

• Contains 2 Main Muscles
• Transverse Process/ Backbone (Blue)

Main Muscle(s) in Loin Chop:

• Longissimus Dorsi (LD)- Loineye/Loin
• Psoas Major- Tenderloin

LD

Psoas Major

Rib Chop

Primal: Loin

Rib Chop Characteristics:

• Bone= Rib(Blue) and Backbone
• Contains the Longissimus Dorsi

Main Muscle(s) in a Rib Chop:

• Longissimus Dorsi (LD)- Loineye/Loin

Tenderloin

Primal: Loin

Tenderloin Characteristics:

• No Bones
• Contains ONLY the Psoas Major

Main Muscle(s) in a Tenderloin:

• Psoas Major- Tenderloin

Baby Back Ribs:

Primal: Loin

• Boxed Pork Sub-Primal: Full Bone-In Loin/ Baby Back Ribs

Baby Back Rib Characteristics:

• Rib Bones
• Remove the membrane lining off of the Rib Rack
• Can remove a full rack of baby back ribs from a full loin

Spareribs:

Primal: Sparerib

• Boxed Pork Sub-Primal: Full Rack of Spareribs or St. Louis Spareribs

St. Louis Style Spareribs Characteristics:

• Flat Rib Bones and Cartilage
• Creating a Traditional St. Louis Spare Rib🡪 Remove the Riblets
• Remove the Membrane Lining

Pork Belly Cuts:

• Fresh Belly
• Fresh Side Pork
• Smoked Bacon
• Smoked Sliced Bacon

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Fresh Pork Belly/Side Pork

Primal: Belly

Side Pork Characteristics:

• NO Bones
• Contains Many Muscles
• Must be CURED and COOKED to be considered Bacon

Loin Breakdown

1. CONDUCT A YIELD TEST
2. BREAKDOWN AND BONE OUT A FULL PORK LOIN